Question

Ethene is formed when ethanol at 443 K is heated with excess of concentrated sulphuric acid. What is the role of acid in the this reaction ? Write the balanced chemical equation of this reaction.

Answer 1

When ethanol is heated with excess of concentrated sulphuric acid at 443 K, it gets dehydrated to form ethene.
`underset("Ethanol")(CH_(3)CH_(2))OHunderset("dehydration")overset("Conc."H_(2)SO_(4),443K)tounderset("Ethene")(CH_(2))=CH_(2)+underset("Water")(H_(2)O)`
In this reaction, concentrated sulphuric acid acts as a dehydrating agent which removes water molecule from the ethanol molecule.